Final Fantasy XIII Type0: The Beginning
by Yuki Minamoto
Summary: A world in turmoil, and opposing sides are formed. An academy is formed to fight against these forces. Which side are you on?
1. Before

**-Final Fantasy Agito XIII: The Beginning-**

** Well this is just a prologue to the official story I'm going to be trying to keep up. Since there is only 2 trailers about the mysterious game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis trilogy, I'm going to have to improvise. (Why can't SE give us more information?)**

**Enjoy! Send me any PMs if you have any more information on Agito!**

**

* * *

**

Winds witnessed fallen bodies during the battle, but they had no mercy on the people who fought against its currents. Small, red capes were cloaked underneath heavy, brown clothing. The soldiers who were still alive looked at the battleground with sadness.

On the other side of the battlefield was a different story.

"Ma'am!" A man rushed towards a woman who was smiling at the destruction. She put her cold eyes at the messenger who bowed before her. The woman grimaced at his fithy clothes stained with dirt and wear.

"Well? What news do you have?" She asked, looking away as if her eyes would go blind in his presence.

The man stuttered slightly and spoke,"We have crossed the Mangus Limes Wall, Your Eminence. Our forces have breached Rubrum, Anaze, and Kogai. We are now heading towards the capital, Miss."

The woman looked at the army of pests in front of her; their weapons aimed at her troops who stood their ground slashing at the small figures in front of them.

She nodded at a man near her and he stood up at attention. With a flick of her finger, her underling shouted the order to fire.

One line of soldiers crouched from under their hiding places stood up suddenly and aimed at the opposing army. The woman smirked gleefully. _These pests would fall before her might. _She thought quickly.

A white-like substance rose from the grounds and protected the small figures from the barrage. The woman's eyes widened.

"What? No!" She exclaimed and pointed at the solider who signaled for the blaze to begin. Small flames were ignited across the lines and soon surrounded and licked its devastation all over the battlefield.

Many cries and shouts of pain was music to the woman's ears. '_I wonder, are they still alive?_' She thought carefully. Her eyes scanned everywhere and soon found a lone figure among the flames.

Frowning, she ordered the troops to surround the remaining survivors. Her eyes were on a lone figure that carried a spear-no, it was a flag!

She growled,"Damn them! I thought they were DEAD!" Her hands were clenched in anger. She eyed the lone figure who put its back against her army and trusted the flag's end onto a rock.

Soon, the group slowly stood up one-by-one, their weapons revealing themselves to the troops and the woman in defiance. The woman exhaled slowly, trying to ease her rising anger.

"I see. They are still alive after all." She said to herself. "Oh dear, I knew this was too easy."

A bright blue light swirled and a small figure quickly controlled the item in its hand.

The group brandished their weapons with the skill they have been given at their school.

The golden red flag flapped against the wind.

"Let the battle finally begin." The woman whispered coldly and the troops aimed their weapons at the remaining figures.

**_Which side are you on?_**

**_

* * *

_So far, nothing really has been confirmed about Agito. **

**I will post up all the Final Fantasy XIII Agito Trailers up in my profile.**

**Click on the button, you know you want too. . . . .**

**~Yuki M.~**


	2. Headmaster

**-Final Fantasy Agito: The Beginning-**

**I want to thank everyone who reviewed: iFellOffMars, Mysterious Friend, and Mokona295. Thanks for all of everyone's encouragement!**

* * *

The snow lightly fell on the main courtyard of Peristylium, a school where students from all over come to learn and hone their powerful magic skills to aid the country in the mist of War. Their nation is a small one, located on an island apart from the rest of the continent. Politics reigns supreme in this world. One wrong move and the nation you live in might be gone in a day.

To stop the fighting, the nations of Oriens signed the **Pax Codex**. A treaty that states that no nation, under any circumstances, will be invaded for their Crystal. When each leader signed their name on that sheet of paper, it was when each nation, Suzaku, Genbu, and Seiryu, breathed a huge sigh of relief. Peace was here once more...

Until one nation broke it. Byakko was its name and under the high commander, Cid, began to use powerful airships he created himself and the ever-present I'Cie to invade nations. With these advantages, Cid had begun to conquer all the nations.

Except one: Suzaku.

Suzaku's defense capabilities put up a strong resistance against the I'Cie and Cid's armada of airships. Then the Byakko did something no other nation had ever done in Oriens: They disabled their only Crystal. The High Commander thought that, if stripped away from the powers of their Crystal, they would be defenseless and Suzaku would fall.

The High Commander was wrong. True, he did stop the power of the Crystal from flowing free to the nation, and yes, without the Crystal Suzaku''s main defenses were done with. _Almost _done with. Before this war ever began and when the magical school Peristylium was as powerful as Suzaku's army, the headmaster of Peristylium ordered twelve of his elite students to sign a pact with the Crystal. Stating if Suzaku was ever invaded, they would have this one option to stand against the enemy.

The headmaster hoped that he would never use his students in any wars and his twelve students could live in peace. When the Crystal stopped fueling their nation, he knew, regrettably that he had to put his plan into action. Calling on his twelve students, the headmaster told them to enact the plan: **Operation Apostle**.

All the students understood and with all their weapons brandished, they set out to defend their nation. In the **Apostle Operation**, they were all given code names based on their choice of weapons to protect their real identity so that if they were killed in battle, no one would know where they came from for the sake of their country.

On that battlefield, the twelve magical students lost their identity to fight in what they believe in. For the sake of their nation, they were all warriors who fought for the greater good, to fight against evil, and for their beloved Crystal. The headmaster would soon regret his decision into making this twelve people army. The burden he gave his students would haunt him for the rest of his life.

And so, our story begins here.

-**Chapter 2: Headmaster** -

The ground was white and soft from the falling snow. The courtyard's main fountain looked beautiful in its watery world. Its white, frosted water reflected the gray clouds above it, icicles clung at the fountain's edges and the tip of where the water sprang out of had frozen over. The trees were bare and naked, the brown bark was turning gray from the cold. The school grounds, which usually bustled with teachers and students, was empty.

A pair of eyes looked at his school with guilt in his heart. Closing the curtain, he walked back to his desk and put his hand at the wooden edge. Smiling sadly he said to himself,"If only we had peaceful days like this." He was a tall man, hardly 28 years old, the burden of war was settling in on his face. His tired green eyes glanced at his room as if to catch his eye on something.

_Knock! Knock!_

Shaking his head away from his daydreams, he waved his hand and said,"Come in. The door's unlocked." The door opened to reveal a teenage boy with spiky, white hair. The headmaster smiled,"Card! What's up my man?" He raised his hand to high-five his beloved student, but the boy gave him a cool stare.

"Headmaster, we were successful at Zakari. Byakko's soldiers are retreating from the area as we speak. What should we do next?" The serious tone of the boy's voice made the Headmaster groan in despair. Scratching the back of his head and then Headmaster glared at his student who flinched at the eyes in front of him.

"What did I say about talking about Politics in this room?" Headmaster asked his student sharply. The student straighten up and managed to say quickly,"Don't talk about it in this room, Sir!" Headmaster grinned and suddenly put the poor boy in a headlock. "Atta' boy Card! Now I know I taught you something! How's the rest of the crew?" The white-haired boy maneuvered away from the man's grasp and straighten himself up. Flustered at the sudden attack, Card scowled.

"They're all fine, Headmaster. Anything else, Sir?" The headmaster put his hands together and rhythmically tapped the tips of his fingers together. Then the Headmaster grinned,"I would like hottie in this room if you can get one for me with that baby face you have." The boy exhaled slowly and turned his back from the Headmaster.

"Sorry, Headmaster. I can't help you with _that_ problem. Why don't you go pick up women someplace else?" The Headmaster noted the annoyed tone in his student's voice and sighed dramatically. "Do you even know _how_ to have fun?" Silence.

"You are such a party-pooper, A." The boy froze at the mention of his real name. Growing demonic horns, a black aura surrounded the teen boy as he glared at his womanizing headmaster who was picking his nose casually and flicked the booger away. The white-haired man rolled his eyes at his student's sudden change in personality.

"Don't worry about it. I checked and double check and _triple_ checked my room. No bugs, microphones, microchips, or tapes around here. You're safe _Card_." That didn't stop the teen from tackling the headmaster head-first. The Headmaster hit the ground first, his stomach felt the weight of Card as the boy grabbed the wrists of his headmaster's, pinning him to the ground.

The headmaster looked at his student's enraged blue eyes and smiled,"I know you want me A., but don't you think you're taking this too far? What would the teachers and students think if we had a headmaster/student relationship?" He felt his wrist burn from the tightness of his student's grip.

"Okay, I'm guessing-" The tightness from Card's grip made his hand cold. "All right! All right! Uncle! Uncle!" Hearing his surrender, Card let go of his grip and got up. The headmaster breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the weight off of him and sat up carefully.

"Don't insult me like that, Headmaster. You know I hate it." Card's voice was full of coldness. Rubbing his wrist to get back the feeling of heat, the Headmaster chuckled. "Fine, I'm sorry. Now, help the old man up." Reaching out for Card's hands, the boy reluctantly held his hand out to him and pulled the man up. Straightening his dress tie, the Headmaster noted from the corner of his eye how tired the boy looked.

'_The War's finally catching up to him. He's usually not like this.' _Headmaster thought as Card adjusted his uniform. Using his analytical skills, Card, in his eyes was more serious and more prone to violence when the war began. Before the war, Card was friendly, outgoing, polite, and had that boyish determination and drive.

'_War changes people too much. Sending my kids out to battle...'_ His green eyes dropped away from the boy and onto the red carpet. "You must hate me for this, huh A?" The headmaster's voice came out as a whisper. Card blinked and his exterior side softened at the vulnerable man in front of him.

Smiling, the boy shook his head,"No, Headmaster. I would never hate you for doing this. You're just doing what's right for Suzaku. For this school. Why would I hate you for that?" Lifting his head, the Headmaster saw the smile on his student's face and he was instantly restored.

"Thanks kiddo!" Headmaster exclaimed as he put Card into another headlock. Card tried to wiggle away but failed as his headmaster ruffled his white hair. "H-Hey! Headmaster quit it! That hurts! Stop!" the boy excalimed as his headmaster laughed.

"I'd like to see you stop me! Bwahahaha! I conquered my student once again! Try to get out of-." Suddenly, the headmaster felt his stomach being punched and released his harassed student.

"Arg! Damn you A!" The headmaster exclaimed, shaking his fist at the victorious Card. Smirking, Card waved his hand goodbye and walked out the door, ignoring the screaming headmaster behind him. The receptionist heard his cries and rushed into the room.

"Headmaster! Don't worry I'll save-!" The man shouted and held out a dagger in front of him. He stopped mid-way and looked at the defeated man on the ground. He chuckled at the usually arrogant and confident headmaster who now looked like a rag doll thrown away, getting himself knocked out by one punch by a teenager.

"Was it Card again, Headmaster?" the receptionist's eyes twinkled at the humor of it all. The white-haired man nodded weakly,"Uh-huh, and it hurts so bad! That boy shouldn't punch so hard! Ouchie. . . ." Sighing the receptionist went back to his desk and resumed his task of sorting out all the signed letters by various resignation papers that were stacked high above his head.

"Teachers here are so...bothersome. Expecting more pay since the war began. Ridiculous. They need to toughen up and teach these students or we'll all go to hell." The man said loudly to himself. One office worker poked her head from her desk and asked,"Talking to yourself again, Maurice?"

The man's violet eyes flickered towards her and smiled,"Teachers these days. They say its more dangerous to work now that the Byakko personnel are targeting their families if they teach in Peristylium any longer. Horrible isn't it?" The woman's eyes cast down towards the floor in sadness.

"I hear more and more teachers are resigning in fear for their lives. The rest of the students are being moved back to their parents because of the war as well. What is the headmaster going to do?" the woman asked her coworker with worry in her voice. The man shook his head.

"I don't know, but the headmaster's desperate to have the teachers back and the students back in school to enroll this year. The enrollment papers are hardly to look at." He said, pointing at a small stack behind him. The woman bit her lip, cast her eyes downward and went back to her work. Maurice looked at the teachers' signatures and sighed.

"The war is just beginning. If this keeps up any longer will Peristylium even be a school?" Throwing the papers in the shredder one by one, Maurice felt the hopelessness rising.

Putting his hands into his pockets, the headmaster looked out his window, watching the falling snow begin with vigor. His green eyes spotted Card catching up with the rest of the gang. They were all covered in their brown cloaks, their hoods were down to reveal smiling and laughing teens. The shouts of 'Where were you?' and 'That took long, Card!' echoed in the courtyard.

The white-haired boy smiled and said,"Sorry guys, you know how the headmaster gets." Most of them nodded and it started a round of jokes they made about their headmaster. Bursts of laughter erupted from the group as the headmaster watched with a soft smile.

"I took it away. . . . . again." His vision swam and the courtyard became blurry. His body shook and the composed, goofy demeanor he wore for years slowly fell apart. His hand touched the icy window and slowly formed a fist before the image of his students laughing happily in the courtyard.

Maurice sighed and leaned against his chair that made a squeaking sound as he raised his feet on top of his desk. "Phew! Done! Finally, some rest." Looking in his cabinet and found what he was looking for. Smiling, he held up a small quilt he made months before and began to sew. Maurice stopped as he heard something coming from the headmaster's room.

Worried about another unknown intruder, he got up and readied his dagger. He slowly opened the doorknob, focused and alert. "Headmaster, are you-?" He paused, ignoring the fact that the door was open ajar and saw something he thought he would never see.

The headmaster's whole body trembled and his forehead was pressed against the window. Both of his hands were against the window, balled up into fists. He heard the headmaster whispering and muttering to himself, and Maurice stepped forward.

"Headmaster, what's wrong?" he asked gently. The headmaster muttered something under his breath and seemed to not know Maurice was in the room. Maurice's eyes became alert and worried that the man had a nervous break down. "Sir, why don't we get you to a healer? That'll make you feel better, right?" Maurice's voice was lost in the room.

"I took it away..." He heard the headmaster say clearly. Maurice frowned, confused at the phrase. "Took _what_ away, sir?" He saw the man's right hand lift away from the window and it fell limp at his side. Maurice frowned,"Sir, why don't we get you to the Healer's office. You'll be all right there." The headmaster didn't notice Maurice and began talking to himself.

"I took it away their freedom. . . . I took it away! Oh, Etro forgive me! I didn't mean to do it! I took it away. . . . . I took it away. . . . . . I took it away. . . . . I took it away again!. . . I took away their freedom!" Then the man fell to his knees and sobbed. Maurice, not knowing what to do, began backing away towards the door.

Holding the doorknob, he watched as the man broke down in front of him. His violet eyes softened as he began to close the door, hearing one more thing from the headmaster.

_"Please forgive me."_

The door closed, putting the room into darkness. The light shining on one more thing, a golden nameplate: **Headmaster: Seth Suzaku**.

Maurice turned around and came in front of shocked and crying staff members who watched the entire scene. Not wanting the headmaster to hear about his own breakdown for tomorrow, Maurice glared at them. "Are you wanting to get fired? Don't you _dare_ tell anyone what happened here! Understood?" He sharply commanded.

Nodding silently, the staff members began to pick their things from their desk and started to head home. Maurice stood in front of the headmaster's door, making sure no one messed with the headmaster as they went home.

"I hope this war ends soon." The man muttered to himself as the last of the staff walked out the exit. Maurice then began to pack his things from his desk. Walking down the hallway , he heard the muffed cries coming from the room.

'_Let it out. Let it all out, so you won't have to cry later on. When you do cry,_' Maurice headed out the exit and felt the coldness nip at his face. Shivering, he turned and eyed the Headmaster's window.

'_You'll change the tears and pain into stars. You'll shine a light that'll brighten tomorrow. Goodbyes may come someday, but I know you'll watch out for them for the rest of your life. You are our Headmaster.' _Maurice smiled and saw a group of teens fighting it out with snowballs.

_'Always.'_


	3. Class Zero

**-Final Fantasy Type-0 The Beginning-**

**NOTE: This is before the whole entire cast of new characters came into play. All the timeline and locations are different from the main story-line.**

* * *

Peristerium School of Magic was a brand-new building that was located on a small island away from the mainland, Orience. The island is named Suzaku after the citizen's God Suzaku and strangely, it's also the last name of the Headmaster himself.

The Suzaku citizens were loyal to their Country; cherishing the only Crystal they had on the island, an object that could create and destroy the island with its unimaginable power. Many of the island citizens trusted the protection of the Crystal to Peristerium, under the Headmaster's direct guidance.

Then the unthinkable happened: War began to ravage the World of Orience.

The first attack began in a country called Kogai and then the Milites army moved forward to Anaze. It was a catastrophic event that shattered many world leaders. Both countries belonged to the Four Elite Powerhouses of Orience that signed the _**Pax Codex **_several months before, and with their Crystal taken, the two impenetrable countries were now powerless against the might Milites Army.

Quickly, in hopes of protecting the Crystal, nations from the neighboring countries of Kogai and Anaze began the fatal domino-effect of supplying weapons, building military camps, and raising armies to fight against them. This turmoil spread like wild-fire, reaching as far as Suzaku.

Suzaku's head-commander soon realized that this war would soon reach his country's boarder's swiftly and without mercy. His solution was to build a special school to protect the Crystal and Suzaku. That school was named Peristerium School of Magic.

At first, many of the citizens couldn't bear the thought of sending children to fight in a war full of bloodshed. In a resistance, there were two groups who were firmly for or against the building of the school.

**P. A. W. **stood for **P**eople **A**gainst **W**ar. The main members were parents and various religion sects in the nation. They went to the main capital of Suzaku and protested in front of the construction site where the school was positioned to be. In the beginning, the protests were peaceful as chants and picket signs were being paraded throughout the city. The sign of war was far away from their boarders and it never mattered to them as long as Suzaku was never involved in such chaos.

The protesting took a turn for the worse where many students and freelance warriors became war-driven to fight against Milites. To fight for their country was a great honor to the young generation, which was swiftly reprimanded by the older generations: parents and the Elders.

Riots began all over the city, causing chaos and mayhem throughout Suzaku. The event were called **Bloody Magic **by Suzaku Historians and it lasted for untold number of weeks.

The Headmaster hated anything political, but he had no choice but to intervene this situation he brought upon Suzaku. He had enough with people's foolishness against his building. The time had come to finally stop his people from hurting the country and themselves.

With a forceful determination, he ordered the Suzaku army to stop the fighting ensuing in the capital city.

The army did as they were told, casting harmless, but effective magical spells over the roaring crowd. Using the distracted fighting to their advantage, the riots began dispelling across the capital. The Suzaku army pushed forward with their power over the capital, instilling bouts of fear and hatred towards the Army and to the Headmaster himself.

Since then, the Suzaku citizens for the first time, had a taste of what kind of power the Commander had over his country and over his people. Many knew, or at the very least_ felt_ their Leader's hold to Suzaku to a limited extent.

There was only one good thing about the riots during the last weeks before Peristerium was finally finished.

The riots stemming about the school, shockingly and abruptly stopped incoming foreign invaders from Orience from invading sea-wise to Suzaku boarders.

Suddenly, questions began to pop up after Bloody Magic.

Why did the riots last for weeks? Surely, the Headmaster could have quickly extinguished the riots as soon as they came. After all, he had full power over the country and its people, and as the Head Commander of Suzaku, should have stopped the riots from ever surfacing.

Did the Headmaster knew about enemies spreading their reach towards Suzaku? If that was the case, then were the riots forming inside the Capital just a diversion to prevent those attackers from causing harm to Suzaku?

The only person who knew the truth was the Headmaster himself.

**-Chapter 3: Class Zero-**

Lazy, green eyes watched his beloved students with sparks of happiness in his heart. The teenagers in front of him looked away uncomfortably.

"Ace, Rem ... are you okay?" Seth, the Headmaster asked with his velvety voice.

Ace bristled at his name being called while Rem shivered at the mere sound of her Headmaster's voice. The boy with white-blonde hair glared sharp-daggers at Seth, who grinned stupidly at his effect on his students.

"Headmaster Suzaku, why did you call us up here for?" Ace asked, controlling himself to an extent. Rem's brown eyes glanced at her fellow classmate, before she felt her headmaster's eyes on her and she cast her eyes downward.

This was the first time Rem Tokimiya was called into the Headmaster's office. The teenager was worried if she had done something wrong during her Class-A mission to infiltrate a country called Kogai near their enemy country, Milites.

When she came inside, her friend Ace had already arrived listening to the Headmaster's voice whisper quietly to him. Then Headmaster Suzaku noticed her arrival and quickly stopped his conversation.

There they were, standing in front of one of the most powerful people in Suzaku. To a student like Rem, the Headmaster's voice gave her the cold shivers whenever he spoke. He had an odd atmospheric aura that she couldn't read.

She was surprised at his overly, cheerful personality and his dark, green eyes that penetrated her very soul. His smile felt sincere and all-knowing and the way he carried himself seemed to be too carefree and airy to be coming from a Headmaster of Peristerium.

His voice was the one that scared Rem the most. Smooth and silky, seductive and sweet, with a combination of a hidden darkness behind his playful tone he used towards them. The rumors surrounding the Headmaster seemed to rotate 360 degrees from what she was seeing who he was right in front of her.

_He's ... a strange person to be sitting behind his desk ... like he doesn't care about the war that's coming to our borders. Is this man** really** our headmaster? _The red-haired teen thought to herself, giving herself one more glance at the white-haired man who chatted playfully at Ace.

"So! You both must be wondering why I called you here today." Headmaster Suzaku chirped. Getting up from behind his wooden desk, he walked in front of his students, sending out an air of power wafting the room.

Rem couldn't catch her breath quick enough. Her thoughts ran across her mind in a blink of an eye. _The aura surrounding this man is powerful!_

Her hand flew to the base of her throat, as she quickened her breathing. The teen boy beside her saw her difficultly and his blue eyes glared at Headmaster Suzaku who smiled at the both of them, apparently oblivious to the affect he had over Rem.

His green eyes looked at Rem who was frantically trying to catch her breath, by clutching her neck as she pressed her hands against her throat. The Headmaster's demeanor flickered from child's play to an air of seriousness.

"Rem, do you need a moment outside?" Seth Suzaku asked, his voice layered with magic. Rem heard his words and shook her head numbly, not wanting to appear weak in front of her friend and her Headmaster. Ace gritted his teeth frustrated at himself powerless to stop the pain inflicted on his friend, and at his so-called "Role-Model".

Enough was enough, Headmaster Seth had gone too far this time.

"Headmaster, stop that! Rem is going to suffocate if you do it any longer!" Ace exclaimed, freeing himself from his spot and held Rem by the shoulders. Rem's brown eyes looked at Ace who's blue eyes glared at the Headmaster with such ferocity, it slightly frightened her more than the Headmaster.

Seth smirked and stopped his walking. With his white-gloved hand, he snapped his fingers and the dark atmosphere diminished, giving Rem the oxygen her lungs craved. She coughed hard, covering her mouth with her hand. Rem felt supporting hands around her shoulders and instantly felt grateful for Ace's help.

"T-Thank you, Ace." She said weakly, before her chain of coughing fits overcame her. Ace smiled kindly at her, holding her shoulders in a comforting way. Seth smirked at his beloved students reactions.

_Ah, they passed it. Not that I expected less from them. Least of all, from Rem Tokimiya._

Ace noticed that Headmaster was lost in his thoughts, and took his chance to whisper to Rem in the most friendly way possible.

"Sorry, Rem. Headmaster Seth does this to check everyone's ... _resistance_ to magic."

"Wait, magic? Hold on, how did he _use_ magic on me?"

Rem shook her head in confusion while Ace smiled apologetically.

"Did you feel seduced by his voice, Rem? Like if he commanded you to do something, you would do it without question?"

The brown-haired girl blushed and nodded. Her hands gestured her words as if she couldn't explain the feelings she felt during Headmaster's voice.

"His voice was very persuading a-and ... it was also **dark and suffocating**. It was like his words were squeezing my neck." Rem replied and she shivered at the silky, cool feeling. Ace grimaced and shot another ditry look at the Headmaster who was still lost in his thoughts.

"Headmaster's skilled with words because he layered his voice with magic, which is one of the reasons he's the Headmaster of Suzaku. A skilled diplomat who can change the course of a war with his words like many people say," Ace looked at Rem with a roll of his blue eyes.

"If you're asking me, the only thing he's good at is womanizing and being a pedophile." The boy shot his words at the man who finally stepped out of his revere. Rem's eyes widened at Ace's accusation and gave the white-haired man a fearful glance.

THWACK!

Rem screamed in surprise, feeling Ace's comforting hold on her shoulder lose his grip. A red book was thrown hard at the teen boy who lost his footing and fell face-first on the red carpet. Rem's body reacted before her brain registered her actions.

Two sharp, red edges of dual daggers appeared in a blink of an eye and pressed gently against her Headmaster's neck. The man smirked at his student's overreaction as he lifted his head away from Rem's twin-daggers.

Brown-eyes widened at her sudden offensive stance she often used towards her enemies. Her eyes looked in horror, seeing herself mere seconds away from slicing away at Headmaster Seth's neck.

A solid, green-light formed a mirror-like substance between Rem and Seth. Rem turned her head to Ace who held one of his glowing green defensive cards in front of him. His blue eyes alert for any sudden movements coming from either of them.

Her cold hands dropped her twin-daggers, disappearing with a flash of red-light. Looking down at her feet, her face blanched at her actions.

"I-I'm sorry Headmaster! I lost control for one moment and_—" _The teenager covered her mouth to stop the cries reaching out from her throat. Ace exhaled deeply, not realizing he was holding his breath during Rem's semi-attack on Headmaster Seth.

A warm hand patted the top of Rem's head as she froze in place. Seth gave her a smile and winked at Ace who blinked curiously at this action.

"Ah, it's all right, Kiddo. Don't worry about it! Shows me you have the guts to kick ass to protect Albino-boy over here!" The man laughed heartily at his own joke, making Rem blush and lift her head up slightly to see Headmaster's green eyes full of mischief. He removed his hand off of Rem's head who secretly wished her Headmaster's kind hand lay on top of her head for a just little bit longer.

Ace frowned and opened his mouth to speak, only to stop himself again. He winced at the throbbing coming from his forehead and tenderly touched the purple bruise.

"Ouch..."

Waving his white-gloved hand in front of the two students with a grand flourish, the middle of the room began to shake beneath them. A dark, circular hole on the ground floor cracked open to reveal a flat, oval table.

It rose slowly out from its hiding place as Ace and Rem began to take note of various buttons and knobs at the edge of the table. Seth walked towards the oval table and pressed several buttons. A blue-sliver outline of Orience appeared, hovering over the table that quickly formed a 3-dimensional hologram of a map of the world. Seth grinned at his students, proud to show off his new gadget.

"So, what do you guys think? Awesome, right?"

The two teenagers looked at one-another briefly before turning their attention to a flickering holographic map of Orience.

"What are we suppose to be looking at, Headmaster?" Ace asked, letting his blue orbs rest on his home country of Suzaku. Rem was impressed at the technology before her.

"It's so ... life-like!" She broke out in a smile and began to circle the table with awe and curiosity. The headmaster grinned broadly, letting his hands do all the talking.

Tapping two times on the blue country they all knew so well with his index finger, the map's point-of-view zoomed in on Suzaku with ease. The blue lines transformed itself into every village, city, and area inside the country, surprising the two teenagers.

"It's the latest technology from Byakko."

Ace and Rem stiffened at the name. Byakko was the country located in the heart of Milites and a nation infamous for inventing most of Orience's high-tech machines known all over.

They were also Suzaku's worse enemy.

"B-Byakko? Headmaster, how did you get such a thing?" Rem asked, stunned beyond belief. Seth's smile never lost its cheerfulness as he told them Rubrum, the country of Peristylium Suzaku Magic Academy "_borrowed_" the invention from Milites after a small siege led by several elite Suzaku Instructors one week after the** Bloody Magic** riots stopped.

Ace's blue eyes narrowed at the now-scholarly Headmaster who was explaining to Rem the main details of the Byakko-made machine.

_Suzaku Instructors? Wouldn't that attract attention to the Byakko students?_

Every Instructor who taught at Peristerium was to have a brand marked on his or her body at all times. It was enchanted by the Head of Suzaku Magic to be easily noticeable to everyone, but able to be quickly hidden by the wearer underneath clothing. The brand symbolized their alliance to Rubrum and Suzaku Peristerium.

Each brand was different since it took the shape of the Instructor's class and personality. Out of fun, students of Peristerium made a game out of their Instructor's brands to see if any of them could memorize and spot each Suzaku Teacher by brand.

There was only one fatal flaw to the brand: It began to glow bright red whenever an Instructor was in the presence of an enemy or if they were in enemy territory. Though each instructor was powerful enough to take on other elite Instructors from Milites, it was impossible for any of them to leave Rubrum on missions.

This led to extremes to make the war favor Suzaku. Instructors from every class began to pick out their most skilled students and gave them lessons to hone in on their particular skill and master it. Each student had five months to be proficient and deadly as they master their abilities.

After the five month period, Master teachers from all over Rubrum began matches between students from other classes and pit them against each other to see who would be the most capable of going out of Rubrum and into enemy territory.

And out of those top students, the Headmaster hand-picked the Elite of the Elite and dubbed them **Class One**. This continued down the line until the weakest of the weak were called **Class Unknown **which was infamously filled with Red Agitos, who were social outcasts and foreigners from other countries.

**Class Zero** was already created before the war and the most powerful group out of all the Classes. They made a pact with their only Crystal months before the war. They were led by Kurasame, famously named the **Icy Blade of Death** in his youthful years.

No one in Class Zero knew what Kurasame's brand looked like. It was practically impossible to see his brand underneath all the layers of clothes he wore consistency to class. There was a small inside-joke between the students of Class Zero to guess what his mark looked like.

"SO! About your mission..." The Headmaster's voice rang loudly, breaking Ace from his thoughts. He turned his head around and saw Headmaster Seth fiddling with the knobs on the World Hologram Map.

"Ah-ha! Here we go!"

The blue outline zoomed on Peristylium Suzaku Magic Academy as it turned a slow 360 degrees on the oval platform. Ace and Rem exchanged puzzled looks.

"Headmaster, why are we on Peristylium? I was expecting something a bit more ... out of the country." Rem said, crossing her arms in a disappointed way while Ace nodded in agreement. Seth sighed, exasperated at his students' love for traveling away from Rubrum.

Waving his white-gloved hand in front of them as if they were both children who misbehaved, Seth sat at the edge of the table. His green eyes watched the two teenagers who stared back at him with confusion written all over their faces.

"Your mission is..." Seth paused for dramatic effect, smirking at their actions as they leaned forward eagerly.

"To..."

Ace and Rem leaned in closer, feeling their hearts beat quicker with every passing moment.

"Hang out."

Ace and Rem registered his words with a serious nod until they realized the idiocy of it.

"Hang-" Rem was interrupted by Ace who finished for her.

"_Out?" _The boy snapped, clenching his fists in anger. Ace was this close to walking out the door and slamming it shut behind him. Seth smiled and nodded cheerfully as his student's eyes watched dumbfounded at their Headmaster.

Walking up to both of them, he said with exasperation,"You guys work too hard! All I wanted to do to keep my beloved students happy is for you guys to hang out more. Is that so wrong of me to want my top class to just be friends with each other?"

Ace and Rem were slient, their feelings bruised at the Headmaster's statement. They were the Elite among the Elite and each student chose to work hard and do their best in any way they could for their country.

After all, Class Zero wanted to become Agito before **Class One** rose to the top. It was a constant competition to be the very best in Peristerium. Nothing else but that mattered.

Unlike all Classes in Peristerium, Class Zero were extremely close with one another as they were side-by-side constantly helping each other with missions in and out of Rubrum and lessons given to them by Kurasame-Sensei.

Outside of the classroom, Class Zero were more or less, a dysfunctional family in a way. Rem and Machina were childhood friends before they were assigned to be in Class Zero, watched each other's backs constantly. Queen, the Class President of Class Zero and Nine, the delinquent of the class had a complicated relationship, but tolerated one other to an extent.

Ace was the one everyone looked up to. Not because he was number one in the class, but he had the personality and the charisma to befriend almost everyone he came across with.

Putting his hands behind his head, Seth grinned at the prospect, knowing full well a student would be insane to refuse a mission assigned by the Headmaster himself.

"That settles it! You guys will go out and have fun like regular teenagers!"

Ace and Rem were puzzled at his statement. Teenagers? Them? They never associated each anyone by age, let alone use the word "Teenager" so freely like Headmaster Seth did. Each student and Instructor, no matter the age, height, or Class in Suzaku was fully capable of killing at any time at any day. It just depended on when, where, and how.

"Um, Headmaster Seth. What do you mean having fun like regular teenagers?" Rem asked. Seth tiled his head with his grin still intact.

"You know! Hang out at malls, video arcades, parks, go out on dates, make-out, have _SEX_!" Headmaster empathized the last work with his infamous sliver tongue, making Ace and Rem blush.

Seth smirked,"You only live once right? Do it while you can, kiddos!" He winked at Rem who blushed a darker scarlet, making Ace glare at his foolish headmaster who stopped his friendly flirtatious advances towards Rem.

"You really are a Pedophile, are you Headmaster?" Ace spat acidly, grabbing Rem by the hand and led her out of Headmaster Seth's office. Seth frowned at his statement and yelled back before his door closed.

"I'm not a Pedo, Ace! I LOVE WOMEN!"

As soon as Rem and Ace passed hand-in-hand, Maurice chuckled at Ace's hot-temper.

"That boy ... he needs to know when to cool it down. I wonder if he knows who he's talking to." Maurice quietly said to himself. Going back into his stack of resignation papers from various Instructors, the blonde man rolled his violet eyes and sent them all down the paper shredder.

XxXxXxX

A long moment passed before Ace let go of Rem's hand. Looking back, he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Rem. I didn't mean to drag you out of there. Honest, I**-"**

**"**There's no need to say sorry Ace. Heh, I'm glad you did. I never knew the Headmaster would be so..." Rem paused, figuring out the right word for a crazy man such as him.

"Creepy?" He offered, grinning.

Rem laughed, covering her mouth to stop more from coming out. Then her eyes brightened as soon as she saw a tall, black-haired boy come walking towards them.

"Machina! You done with class?" Rem asked with a smile on her face. Machina nodded and glanced at Ace who gave Machina a greeting nod and a smile.

"What was the Headmaster's mission, Rem?" He asked, concerned.

Rem noticed the stern tone in his voice and chuckled at his over-protectiveness.

"We were told to, and I quote '_Hang Out_'." She saw Machina's confusion take over and explained to him that Headmaster Seth was giving Class Zero a break from missions and told to hang out with everyone.

"Oh, thank Etro. I thought you were going to be out of Rubrum." Machina said, relieved. Rem swatted the black-haired teen on the shoulder playfully. They both looked at Ace who was watching a white-haired female far away from their spot.

Following his line of sight, the white-haired female was met with a teen girl with long, brown hair and a boy with spiky blonde hair. They both greeted the female with a tight and large hug in unison.

The albino girl didn't show any emotion on her face, besides hugging them back lightly. After the happy greeting, they both occupied either side of her and walked to Suzaku's mess hall a few blocks away from the main buildings.

Rem's brown eyes looked at Ace who smiled at the reunion with a light smile on his face. She tiled her head towards Machina and asked who they were. Machina replied that he didn't know, only that the white-haired female was in their class.

"What? She's in our class?" Rem asked, incredibly.

Machina nodded and chuckled grimly. "She sits far away from us, near the window. She doesn't talk much and never does her work. I don't know why Headmaster Seth put her in that class. If you ask me, she should be placed in Class Unknown."

Rem winced at the harshness of his voice. Class Unknown was famous for being the lowest class in Suzaku, filled with delinquents, foreigners and Red Agitos.

"I'll go look for the others, Rem, Machina you want to help?" Ace asked, breaking Rem's thoughts and her conversation with Machina to a stop.

They both looked at one another and nodded quickly.

"Yeah, sure! Um, I think Queen's the library as _always_. I don't know where the others are." She grinned to herself, slightly proud at her joke. Machina nudged her playfully and teased his childhood friend about her lack of IQ skills in the classroom.

Rem lifted her chin in a noble-like manner, as if IQ skills never counted on the battlefield. Ace laughed, feeling the tense atmosphere from Headmaster's office melt away slowly from his body. Machina glanced at Ace and pointed at the direction of the library, confirming with him on its location.

Side-by-side they walked in a straight line towards the building, feeling the cold weather of Suzaku drift away as it brought half of their school years to a slow end across the main courtyard. Carefree and unaware of the dangers that lay in store for them in the next year.

XxXxXx

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," a cascading voice echoed past the burning and rotting flesh of human and animal carcasses slewed on top of one another as the figure admired her handy work. Her eyes spotted movement underneath of a dead, bloody-feathered Chocobo and smiled to herself.

"Mama's gonna buy you a mocking bird," Her voice rang, filling up the emptiness of the battlefield with her haunting lullaby. She inched closer to the body, noticing a twitch coming from its hand. The woman smiled gleefully, hoping that this one wasn't as half-dead as she thought.

"And if the mocking bird don't sing, then Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring."

Using her right hand, she grabbed a hold of the chocobo and lifted it up off the figure. The body suddenly came alive and squeaked like a mouse who found out it had been caught by its enemy. The woman's eyes gleamed brightly, throwing the chocobo several feet away from them like a rag doll.

"And if that diamond ring turns brass, Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass."

Again, she used her powerful right hand to hoist the frightened figure up into the air by its neck. The female solider's smile widened at her enemy struggling with all its might to breathe, clawing at her right hand using both hands as a weapon.

"And if that looking glass gets broke, Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat."

Her grip on her enemy tightened, and the figure gasped for air. She relished the figure's gasps for breathe, to struggle with all its might to live.

"And if that billy goat won't pull, Mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull."

She sang softly, and only held her enemy tighter, constricting the figure's want for oxygen even more. Her yellow, cat-like eyes brightened as her fingers felt warm liquid pouring down the enemy's throat and trickled slowly down onto her arm.

"And if that cart and bull fall down, You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."

Her voice still held its golden shine as the figure stopped struggling, its hands dropped to its sides in lifeless defeat. The woman's eyes grew blank and discarded the lifeless body of a Suzukian student-solider in a disappointed manner.

"This is boring Qator," the female solider called out to a man with blonde hair and an decorated-patch over his left eye. The man lifted his head up from the battlefield and chuckled to himself. His eyes watched his army's destruction over Rubrum's country-side.

"When are we going to fight strong enemies? These red-necks are so weak." The female spat, grimacing at the red crimson soaking her hand. The man named Qator only smiled and waved his hand with a small flourish.

"Don't worry, my love. You'll get the chance to have your hands covered with blood soon enough." Qator replied with a smug smile. The female frowned and shook her hand several times to get rid of the sticky blood, but it was useless.

"Vida, darling go back to camp so you could wash all that awfulness off you. Byakko knows you hate dirty blood on your hands." Qator ordered lightly at the female red-head.

She gave him one glance and did as she was told, walking away from her general in a slump. Qator watched her go and sighed at her gruesome way of fighting.

"Disgusting. Didn't we just _train her _not to do this anymore? Head-Commander's not gonna like this when we get back home." The man muttered under his breath. Signaling for several grunts, he told them to clean up the bloody mess quickly and quietly as possible.

They saluted back and went to do their task.

Qator's blue eyes flickered towards the battlefield in front of him and at the roaring sea behind him.

"We're almost there, Commander. A little further and your plans will be complete. Just you wait."

XxXxX

"So, Cid Aulstyne has finally made his move?" The white-haired Headmaster asked, watching the woman with his rare and serious green eyes.

"Yes, Headmaster," The female sorceress answered evenly. "It seems that Qator Bashtar, Byakko's top general, succeeded in an ambush in a small school in Rubrum after he left Byakko."

Then the woman's yellow eyes looked away, a rare flicker of remorse filled her eyes.

"Luckily, before she died, she sent a message to one of our mages saying that Bashtar's army is already near Rubrum's coast-line to plan a direct attack on Peristerium Suzaku."

Seth's green eyes closed wearily.

_Another failed attempt to stop them. Damn._

"Make sure to tell the trader and merchants to look for any signs of foreigners coming illegally to our borders. If they do spot illegal immigrants, order them to turn away each infant, child, adolescent teen, adult, and the elderly from our academy. I will **not** tolerate failure. Do you understand me, Arecia?" Seth coldly ordered, sending the sorceress to flinch at his powerful voice.

Arecia Al-Rashina nodded,"Yes, Commander. Understood."

She gave her Commander a salute before she left and closed the door softly behind her.

Rubbing his temples, Headmaster Seth could only sigh deeply.

"War. It's finally here."

* * *

**THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER DONE! Over 5K worth of words!**

**Thanks to all the lovely reviewers out there! This long chapter was for you!**

**Vida in Latin means Life and yes, Vida is an enemy OC. You'll be seeing more of her when you read on.**

**I finally got to show my awesome OCs: Luna, Terra, and Felix! You can see what they look at by my ICON and you can go to my profile to see more pictures of them!**

**Please Review!**


End file.
